5/31/2006 12:03:00 am -
Reported by
Shaun Lyon

May 31, 2006 • Posted By Shaun Lyon

Peter Bryant, former Doctor Who producer and script editor who guided the series through much of the Patrick Troughton era of the series, died on Friday May 19, according to a post by fan Ian Levine on the Restoration Team forum. Bryant joined the series with the story "The Faceless Ones" as associate producer under Innes Lloyd, then produced the serial "Tomb of the Cybermen" before becoming script editor for three series during the show's fifth season. He became the series producer again with "The Web of Fear" and did so through Troughton's penultimate story, "The Space Pirates," when he left the position and was replaced by Derrick Sherwin. Once married to actress Shirley Cooklin ("The Tomb of the Cybermen"), he had remarried and is survived by one of two children, his daughter, and several grandchildren.

Update: The official Doctor Who website also just posted an announcement about this, stating, "Born in 1923, Peter began his career as an actor, appearing in roles as diverse as a 1953 adaptation of Wuthering Heights (as Edgar Linton) and as the cheerful elder son Jack in the BBC's first soap opera The Grove Family. He later became an announcer for BBC radio, also producing scripts for radio drama and eventually becoming the Head of the Drama Script Unit. ... After leaving Doctor Who, he moved on to produce several other TV programmes, including Paul Temple and Special Project Air, before becoming an Actors' and Writers' agent."

5/31/2006 12:01:00 am -
Reported by
Shaun Lyon

May 31, 2006 • Posted By Shaun Lyon

BARB today released the final ratings for week ending 21 May, which see the BBC One transmission of The Age of Steel rising from its overnight figure of 6.93 million to a consolidated final ratings figure of 7.63 million viewers. The episode's timeshift figure of 0.7m is the highest of the week, with various episodes of Coronation Street, EastEnders, New Tricks and The Bill all getting a timeshift of 0.4m. The episode remains second in the chart for Saturday 20 May, behind the annual Eurovision Song Contest, seventh for the week on BBC One, fifteenth for the week across UK television, and the eighth most watched show of the week; the programme's earlier timeslot for that week left it trailing several episodes of ITV1's Emmerdale for the first time this year. On BBC Three, Doctor Who Confidential on 21 May heads the BARB chart with 0.63m viewers, with the Sunday repeat of The Age of Steel in second place with 0.62m viewers.

The final figure for The Age of Steel represents a year-on-year increase of 0.52m on the 7.11m achieved by The Empty Child on the same weekend in 2005. This continues Series Two's almost unbroken track record of increased viewing figures against last year's episodes, with only Dalek performing significantly better for Series One. Yesterday's article in Media Guardian suggesting that viewers are disappearing from Doctor Who has been picked up by several other UK news media, most of which repeat various errors in that original article. In fact, this year's episodes have seen audiences increase against last year, from an average across the six weeks of 7.90m to a 2006 average of 8.49m. This year's episodes have also - so far - performed as well as or better than last year's in terms of chart positions.

Series One

Series Two

Aliens of London (16 April 2005) 7.63m, 2nd (day)/18th (week)

New Earth (15 April 2006) 8.62m [+ 0.99m] 1st (day)/9th (week)

World War Three (23 April 2005) 7.98m, 2nd (day)/20th (week)

Tooth and Claw (22 April 2006) 9.24m [+1.26m] 1st (day)/10th (week)

Dalek (30 April 2005) 8.63m, 1st (day)/14th (week)

School Reunion (29 April 2006) 8.31m [-0.32m] 1st (day)/12th (week)

The Long Game (7 May 2005) 8.01m, 2nd (day)/17th (week)

The Girl in the Fireplace (6 May 2006) 7.90m [-0.11m] 1st (day)/13th (week)

Final figures are not yet available for the episode that provoked Media Guardian's article, The Idiot's Lantern, although its bank holiday weekend overnights (6.32m, 1st/19th) were also higher than last year's overnights (also on a bank holiday weekend) for "The Doctor Dances" (6.17m, 1st/18th). The pattern established by Series One is continuing, with the ratings dips following the same trends as last year but with smaller actual dips. BBC Three's repeat ratings continue to show an upwards trend whenever the BBC One debut has a lower audience, suggesting that the story Media Guardian may have missed is that a similar-sized total audience is making use of digital reruns and home recording each week to maintain an average total weekly audience of, currently, c.9.47m. (The same - widely ignored - pattern can generally be observed whenever one of the main soaps performs disappointingly in its main showing.) All of which is a roundabout way of saying that Doctor Who's UK success actually seems to be continuing, and suggestions that viewers are tiring of it are somewhat exaggerated...

Meanwhile, The Idiot's Lantern has also continued the series' consistent run of very strong AI figures, with the episode scoring an excellent 84 on Saturday, still among the higher AIs since the series' return, beaten by only three of 2005's episodes, though not as high as the 86 scored by both episodes of the preceding Cybermen story.

5/30/2006 12:04:00 am -
Reported by
Shaun Lyon

May 30, 2006 • Posted By Shaun Lyon

The following TARDIS Report is a summary of press coverage, news items and clips from the past ten days (or so). There's still a lot more to cover from the backlog, and that'll be included as part of future TARDIS reports for the rest of the week; here are the highlights:

Television Coverage

A ten-second 'The One to Watch Tonight' trailer for The Idiot's Lanternaired throughout Saturday from 11.29am on BBC One. A slightly longer version of this trail was also shown over the closing credits for Neighbours on BBC One on Friday at just before 6pm.

Maureen Lipman was interviewed by Andrew Marr on Sunday AM the morning after 'The Idiot's Lantern', discussing the poor state of television drama today, though being very complimentary about Doctor Who. A couple of clips from Saturday's episode accompanied the piece. The programme can be seen online until Saturday on the BBC News Player, via this link, with Lipman's 5-minute appearance about 30 minutes into the programme.

K9 will be making an appearance on Blue Peter on Wednesday 31 May (5pm, BBC One).

Official site update

The Doctor Who website was updated as usual on Saturday evening after transmission of The Idiot's Lantern, with the regular downloadable commentary this week by Ron Cook (Mr Magpie), Louise Paige (Costume Designer) and Sheelagh Wells (Make-up Designer). The photo gallery was updated with ten new pictures alongside the ten available since last Tuesday, and there are three short video diaries about the location manager, art direction and period props, as well as behind-the-scenes photographs and the TARDISODE for The Impossible Planet. This week's spin-off game, Defeat the Wire!, involves finding hidden messages amongst dozens of brief clips from various television and radio shows; it can be found direct from the official site or from the Who is Doctor Who? site, updated this week by 'A Friend', since Mickey Smith is no longer around to do it. It's possible that 'A Friend' is "David R. aka DeffyD79", a pupil at Deffry Vale ('School Reunion') and "The Voice of Deffry Vale's Youth" (see here andhere).

UK ratings - latest updates

A correction to yesterday's report on Saturday's overnight ratings figures: the 5-minute breakdowns do not show a peak of 7.78m for Doctor Who. The 15-minute peak for The Idiot's Lantern was 6.7m between 7.30 and 7.45pm (against Soccer Aid's 6.8m in the same quarter hour); the 5-minute peak for Doctor Who was in fact 6.72m at 7.35-7.40pm. The figure of 7.78m was in fact the peak audience for Soccer Aid, occurring immediately after Doctor Who had finished at 7.45pm.

Sunday's 7pm rerun of The Idiot's Lantern had overnight ratings of 635,800, a 4.6% audience share and at the higher end of the ratings achieved by Doctor Who in this timeslot this year. Once again, the episode was first in its timeslot (multichannel) and third in the day's multichannel chart. The Cut Down Confidential that followed was seen by 374,000 (2.6%), eighth for the day in the multichannel chart.

Last week's early evening repeats on BBC Three had the following overnight audience ratings and shares:

The regular 9pm repeat of The Age of Steel on BBC Three on Friday was watched by 384,000 (2%). This repeat, as on the previous Sunday, had no red-button commentary for Freeview audiences, with extra material from the Chelsea Flower Show being shown across BBCi. On Sunday 28, the first repeat of The Idiot's Lantern was also missing its advertised commentary, a concert by the Red Hot Chilli Peppers being BBCi's sole extra on Freeview. (These commentaries were available for digital satellite viewers, and are of course accessible on the official Doctor Who site and on iTunes.)

Today's Media Guardian asks, "Where have the viewers gone? BBC1's Doctor Who revival has been lavished with critical praise and awards, but there are signs midway through its second series that viewers may be tiring of the time travelling sci-fi drama. Saturday's Doctor Who, the seventh out of 13 episodes in the second series, was the lowest-rated yet since the show returned last year to rave reviews and big audiences. ... A fairly typical Doctor Who storyline then, but one which only attracted 6.3 million viewers and a 32% audience share. Doctor Who has shed 2.3 million viewers and 10 share points in two weeks, since the Cybermen episode of May 13, which got a ratings boost to 8.6 million by following the Liverpool v West Ham FA Cup final on BBC1. A week later the second and concluding episode of the Rise of the Cybermen two-parter dropped to 6.9 million viewers and a 36% share. One possible explanation for Doctor Who's ratings decline could be the show's scheduling. After being delayed by 20 minutes, to 7.20pm, on May 13 because of the FA Cup going to penalties; the following Saturday's instalment went out nearly an hour earlier at 6.40pm, to accommodate the Eurovision Song Contest. Last Saturday Doctor Who was at 7pm and the show is scheduled at the same time for the next two weeks. But after that the show could face further scheduling disruption because of BBC1's World Cup coverage. Doctor Who has also faced stiffer competition from ITV1 in the past couple of weeks, with The Prince's Trust 30th anniversary concert and Soccer Aid scheduled against it. Before that, ITV1 had put movie repeats against Doctor Who, with disappointing results. Last year Doctor Who was more consistently scheduled at 7pm, with only one episode, on FA Cup final day, starting at a different time, 6.30pm." Also reported in theIndependent.

Yahoo News reports that "The BBC said it was pleased with Doctor Who's performance after Saturday's viewing figures fell to 6.3 million. The seventh episode in the second series of the show, which was relaunched last year, had a 32.8% audience share and peaked at 6.7 million viewers. The episode featured the Doctor and his sidekick Rose fighting an attempt by an alien to feed off the minds of people watching on TV the Queen's 1953 coronation. MediaGuardian.co.uk reported that the figures were the lowest-yet for the show. But a BBC spokeswoman said: "We are delighted with the viewing figures that the second series of Doctor Who has received so far. The series is proving to be incredibly popular with audiences and has continued to outperform strong competition from its competitors week on week. However, episode seven did transmit over a Bank Holiday weekend when more people are likely to be away."

The Impossible Planet Coverage

Heat's reviewer gives this Saturday's episode the max 5 stars and writes: "If you've been wondering why a Time Lord with access to all the places in the universe and the whole of time to choose from keeps ending up on Earth within a two-century range of history, blame series producer Russell T Davies - he likes to keep the Doctor close to home so that the kiddie viewers can be frightened by familiar things. But he can't keep the Doctor in Cardiff - or wherever Cardiff is standing in for - every week, so over the course of this two-parter we get one of the Tardis' occasional trips further afield. The Doctor and Rose drop in on an extraterrestrial mission group from (where else?) Earth, who have journeyed across space to visit a crummy, rock-strewn planet spinning round a black hole. With only the thoroughly ugly Oood for company (imagine an egg eating a squid - or save yourself the effort and just look at the picture above), our plucky travellers have to contend with something very old and very pissed-off living beneath the planet's surface." (reviewer: Chris Longridge). The magazine also has Doctor Who at number six in it's top 10 Best TV shows for the week.

Closer has The Impossible Planet as one of their top Choices for Saturday: "Imagine the scenario - you go into space, get stuck on a planet and end up right next to a black hole. Bummer! This is the tricky situation Rose and the Doctor find themselves in tonight, along with uptight archaeologist Toby (Strictly Come Dancing's Will Thorp) and a team of space explorers. Even worse, there's something nasty below the planet's surface that isn't happy at being disturbed."

Reveal gives this week's eppy 4 (out of 5) stars and list it as one of their 'Must Sees': "The time travellers are trapped on a desolate planet orbiting a black hole, where they encounter a sinister race of aliens and a team of human explorers." And on guest star Will Thorp: he was "last seen waltzing and jiving on Strictly Come Dancing, but the ex-Casualty star ... plays Toby, a friendly soul who has the misfortune of being possessed by a demon!"

Star magazine's preview mentions: "In the first episode of this two-part story, our poor little Rosebud finds herself stranded on the dreadfully desolate world in the orbit of a Black Hole. The weary time-travellers then have to contend with strange rumblings from beneath the planet's surface..."

People

Sky Showbiz quotes Billie Piper as wanting "to see Dancing on Ice star and former Doctor Who assistant Bonnie Langford back as a guest on the show. 'I think it would be hilarious to see the two people who have worked with him at war,' said Billie."

According to Sky Showbiz, "Dancing On Ice star John Barrowman is the man you girls want to sit in with the lovely Fern Britton on This Morning. John stepped in last month for a few days and the switchboard went into meltdown. The plan is to get him back as quickly as possible."

Another article says that "Peter Kay may have just appeared in the hit show Doctor Who as a baddie, but I hear that the Bolton-born comic is keen to land the role of the main man when David Tennant moves on. He told me: "I think the doctor should come from Bolton next time; he's always been a bit posh for me liking." This is Lancashire says, "This is Bolton comedian Peter Kay as you have never seen him before. The Phoenix Nights star has swapped Brian Potter's wheelchair for green skin and pointy ears as he plays a new Jabba-the-Hut style villain in Dr Who. The creature, named Abzorbaloff, kills its victims by absorbing them into its massive body. Their faces can be seen through its translucent green flesh. He first appears as a man called Victor Kennedy then reveals his true evil identity. ... The Bolton comic was given the role in the second series of the sci-fi hit after he wrote a fan letter to Doctor Who creator Russell T Davies saying how much he enjoyed the first series. The Abzorbaloff was designed by nine-year-old William Grantham, of Colchester, Essex, for a 'Design a Doctor Who Monster' competition held by Blue Peter last year. Kay had to endure five hours in make-up to emerge as the flabby horror. Russell T Davies said: 'We are delighted to welcome Peter onboard the TARDIS! The casting of Peter came about after he wrote me the most brilliant letter to say how much he'd enjoyed Series One of Doctor Who. 'From, that point on, we started talking about a guest appearance. However, this is not a comedy turn. Peter is a versatile actor who has appeared in Paul Abbott's Butterfly Collectors and The Secret Life of Michael Fry.' Mr Davies said the hand-written note was signed 'Yours sincerely, Peter Kay. PS garlic bread', after one of Kay's famous catchphrases. Kay joins an array of well-known actors who have already signed up to the series including; Pauline Collins, Anthony Head, Maureen Lipman, Roger Lloyd-Pack, Sophia Myles, Tracy-Ann Oberman and Danny Webb. On Monday, Kay topped a list of the 100 funniest people alive in a survey by lads' magazine Zoo." Other coverage of Peter Kay's appearance can be found in the Manchester Evening News.

The Guardian has comments from Maureen Lipman, complaining about her new haircut and wondering if she can blame it on Doctor Who! "I'm normally very happy with my hairdressing arrangements. Danny does a brilliant cut for 28 quid and I've sent so many friends to him that these days I can't get an appointment. But I shall have to grovel next time I go, or pretend the make-up girls did it on the set of Doctor Who to make me look more alien."

People says of Camille Coduri, "She's fiddled with Doctor Who's sonic screwdriver, starred as a kinky stripper and will soon sizzle as an ex-porn star. Curvy Camille Coduri even adds a certain sexiness to playing time traveller Billie Piper's mum. But the actress insists she's an old-fashioned girl at heart. Happily married and a devoted mum to two kids in real life, Camille enjoys looking sexy but has strong views on screen nudity, steamy photo shoots and pornography. 'You don't need to get your bra off to prove yourself,' says the actress who, at 40, has a string of impressive film and TV roles to her name. 'A lot of these young actresses who do it are really beautiful and talented and I just think... have a bit of dignity.' Camille's latest role - as an ex-porn star in a new BBC3 series called Sinchronicity - has also given her strong views on that subject. 'I went on the web to research the role and it shocked me 100 per cent. I didn't think that I could be shocked until then,' she explains. 'But pornography upsets me and winds me up because it is for men and as long as that is going on women will never be equal.' ... Camille also loves being part of Doctor Who. 'It has definitely been one of the happiest times in my life,' she says. 'It's hugely funny to film. More often than not you are tearing down the road screaming when you really want to be wetting yourself laughing.'" The Manchester Evening News also interviews Coduri briefly about her new show. "Doctor Who star Camille Coduri, who also happens to be a Manchester City supporter, plays pregnant mum Janice, wife of Lennie and mother of both Sammy and teenager Nicky (Nicola Bland). 'Janice is very different from Rose's mum, Jackie, in Doctor Who,' she maintains. 'It's funny how you slot right into the time and the era. Obviously, the clothing and make-up help, but we were all behaving in that London sixties way. It's all the little details that go into something like this - the string shopping bags, the retro wallpaper and so on.' Now working in Manchester on a new BBC3 drama series, called Sinchronicity, Camille has nothing but praise for young Imogen, who, along with Pickles, is the star of the show. 'The dog wasn't really interested in you, unless you had a sausage up your sleeve,' she smiles."

Yahoo News says that "Soap lovers will spot a couple of famous faces in the returning stage favourite Me and My Girl.Sylvester McCoy and Trevor Bannister are lined-up for a theatrical stint, and both have appeared in various soaps. McCoy is best known for playing Doctor Who during the late 1980s, but he's also cropped up in Hollyoaks, The Bill and Casualty. Bannister will be remembered by many for his role as Mr Lucas in sitcom Are You Being Served? Taking the lead role will be Richard Frame, who played Father Damian Harrison in Family Affairs last year. In Me and My Girl he'll be performing as Bill, a cockney bloke who discovers he's the heir to a fortune. ... The production begins its tour in Plymouth in August, and will call at such places as Sheffield, York, Edinburgh, Bradford and Brighton before finishing its run in Southampton at the end of April 2007."

Paul O'Grady interviewed Jamie Foreman on his show on 26 May before his debut as Eddie Connolly in The Idiot's Lantern. A few quotes include: 'The costumes are fantastic.' and 'It's such fun to do.' On being asked if his character was a goodie or baddie, Jamie would only say that he is: 'very misunderstood... is 53, just got back from Burma.' On the latest Time Lord: 'I think David Tennant will be one of the best Doctors ever.' On Doctor Who: 'It's like watching a Spielberg movie.' (they also showed a short clip showing a confrontation scene between Jamie Foreman's character and an angry Doctor demanding to know what's going on.)

The UK Press Association says that "Casualty veteran Will Thorp is to feature in a Doctor Who adventure beginning on June 3. He admits he was delighted to receive a couple of scripts from head writer and executive producer Russell T Davies. 'I would have said 'yes' to it whatever (the part) was,' Thorp said recently. In The Impossible Planet, the Doctor and Rose arrive on a desolate world orbiting a black hole. They find themselves trapped with Toby (Thorp), a twentysomething archaeologist. However, something ancient lurking beneath the planet's surface begins to wake, and our heroes face a race against time to prevent themselves being whisked off into oblivion. The supporting cast includes Ronny Jhutti, who played Sohail Karim in EastEnders from 1988 to 1990, and the conclusion can be seen on Jun 10. Will, a massive Doctor Who fan, had to keep pinching himself while making the episodes to check if he wasn't dreaming. 'It was like being in the playground,' he laughs. Thorp is currently working on a touring version of Strangers On A Train with another Doctor Who veteran, Colin Baker."

The Financial Times wrote on 27 May, "Tom Baker walks into a central London hotel bar wielding a walking stick, dismissing journalists as traitors and uttering emphatic expletives. He is a big man, tall and well-built, with a good head of white hair. He doesn't want to sit in a quiet corner but rather in the thick of it, where he can 'see human life'. He slides into a faux-leather armchair, catches the waiter's attention and orders a drink in his deep, resonant, theatrical voice. 'A Bombardier, thank-you, sir.' The beer arrives and Baker pours it carefully into a pint glass. 'Good health to you. Nice to see you.' Here is an actor still going strong at the grand age of 72; in fact, he is enjoying a renaissance late in life. He may always be best remembered for being one of the popular incarnations of Doctor Who (between 1974 and 1981) but in recent years Baker has become highly fashionable again. After a few decades of cameo roles in various modern TV comedies, Baker became the narrator in the phenomenally successful Little Britain. He is not quite ready, however, to discuss his work. Instead, he takes a moment to enjoy the drink then produces a copy of Philip Roth's novel Everyman and waves it in the air. 'I'm getting deeper and deeper into this new Roth. God, it's so sad. So, so sad. He's 74, I think. Usually his novels are much bigger than this. It's a meditation on death. When people don't have any religious faith, death becomes obscene.' He barely pauses for breath. 'This bar is a good place to meet a pal. [In] the pubs round here it's hard to finish a sentence without some tosser from the BBC saying 'Tom! Do you remember doing some programme or other with me?' Or some girl saying 'Don't you remember me, Tom. We used to be married?'' ... When I ask about Christopher Ecclestone and David Tennant as the most recent incarnations of Doctor Who, he says: 'I always get sweet messages - not from Christopher Ecclestone, who I was very surprised to see leave so soon; he's a very powerful actor - but from the little chap. David what? Oh yes, Tennant. When I was in Monarch of the Glen, a make-up artist friend of his asked me to send him a card, which I did. He sounds very sweet.' Whenever he's in London, Tom Baker is stopped in the street by fans of Doctor Who. Is it a relief to escape to France? 'It doesn't drive me mad. People are willing to share things with me because they think they love me. Fan love is quite different because it endures. When I used to see a disintegrating George Best or some great old cricket player like Denis Compton, the nostalgia would always catapult me back to my youth. People who talk to me in the street make quite affecting little speeches about what I meant to them. There are plenty of actors more distinguished then I am but I bet that never happens to them.' ... Would Baker like to be offered a part in the new Doctor Who? He shrugs. 'I've done my time but if the BBC had any bloody flair, if they had real genius, they'd have brought me back to play the Master.' He seems a little hurt that no one has even offered a cameo and, as is his style, quickly moves on to something else." More of the interview at the site.

The Idiot's Lantern Reactions

The Guardian blog: "This week's episode, the Idiot's Lantern, attracted 6.3m viewers, the lowest of the year to date. I'm sure it is no coincidence that it was also the worst episode of the year thus far - a satire of the brain rotting properties of television set in 1953 during the Queen's coronation. It exhibited all the worst attributes that have been turning the series into a smug pantomime. ... At least the villainous Wire on the weekend, played by Maureen Lipman, was a proper evil baddy, in the episode titled the Idiot's Lantern written by League of Gentleman co-creator Mark Gatiss, but the plot was pretty thin, with no time to develop - another major problem of the modern series - everything is so rushed. While it's pretty clear David Tennant is a better Doctor than Christopher Eccleston ever was, the series redeeming features are in danger of getting swamped by self indulgent, self satisfied output that suggests that the production team is producing the show for their mates and not the audience. Maybe success has all gone to their heads

CBBC News: "'I heard they rot your brains. Rot them into soup and your brain comes pouring out your ears, that's what television does!' So says an elderly woman in the pre-title sequence of this week's episode. Officially, I suppose I should be offended as I've spent most of my working life involved in TV, and most of my non-working life watching it. Indeed, this episode is even called The Idiot's Lantern - a nickname for TV sets. Unsurprisingly then, TVs have a key role in the plot. ... This is a very different episode, written by Mark Gatiss, who penned last season's Unquiet Dead. It rattles along well enough, but unfortunately doesn't have the energy that previous episodes have had. It has a slightly clumsy sub plot about equality between men and women, and a villain who's never really satisfactorily explained - I much prefer us to understand more about their background. That said, there's some nice stuff in here. The revelation of what's happening to the victims is fabulous (hats off to the special effects wizards at The Mill). And it's good to see Rose well entwined in the nastiness that's going on. Every series has to have its peaks and troughs though, and after the frantic excitement of the Cyberman episodes, this was always going to be a smaller, less epic adventure where the mystery was wrapped up very quickly. And many will enjoy its more intimate nature. But I'm now really looking forward to the next two-parter which Billie Piper told me was the most frightening thing they've done yet!"

BlogCritics: "After the big Tom MacRae 'Rise Of The Cybermen'-'The Age Of Steel' two-parter, Mark Gatiss' 'The Idiot's Lantern' seemed more underwhelming than overwhelming. While too many plots were happening in the former, there didn't really seem to be a plot with the latter - or at least one that was tied to everything well enough. ... There's a nice little nod to 'Logopolis' with the final chase/fight scene on the tower. Wouldn't it have been interesting to have that as a cliffhanger rather than the RTD Cybermen two-parter a few episodes away? The Doctor could simply fall off after being exhausted from fighting The Wire and cut to credits, as it appeared he was seemingly out of breath. On second thought, it probably would have been terrible given the spoilers that he would come back in the next few episodes of the next season. After being tight on the accents with the past few episodes, we return to more grumbling. This time the fault lies with Jamie Foreman's Eddie, whose language is so thick I couldn't figure out if that was a character trait or the lack of ability to convey his words. Tennant did that a few times himself, which is even more irritating since the show is about The Doctor. Understand, this is not a demand for British actors to speak clear English -- I just want to be able to hear the words coming out of their mouths. The London Police bits seemed a bit tagged on. Rather than use them to store all the faceless, Gatiss could have easily stuck them in one of the houses that had a large basement or something that wouldn't have involved having to tag on more characters. The less of them you have, the more centered you can be on the plot at hand, something Doctor Who often loses when it adds on the baggage. I almost couldn't review this episode because it seemed so blah." (BlogCritics also reviews the two part "Rise of the Cybermen/The Age of Steel.)

Other Press Items

Influential UK multi-channel TV guide What Satellite and Digital TVannounced the results of its annual readers' awards on May 24 and Doctor Who won "Best Sci Fi Show".

The Western Daily Press noted that "They are virtually indestructible, have a fearsome arsenal of weapons and millions of them want to destroy all human beings - oh, and they raise a lot of money for charity by opening village fairs. Yes, the Daleks have arrived in the West with the formation of a new group of Dr Who-hating, terrifying machines, on a mission to raise cash for a cancer charity. Three Dr Who fans have spent months painstakingly recreating the contraptions, complete with motorised movement, moveable weapons and Dalek-voice machines. And the first on their list of communities to exterminate this summer was the normally quiet and picturesque village of West Lavington in the heart of Wiltshire. And amid the schoolchildren maypole dancers, beer tent and sea scouts displays, the three Daleks cut an eerie and slightly terrifying sight after they opened the village's May Fair."

BlogCritics says that Americans should give the new series a chance. "I haven't been on Outpost Gallifrey in months as a regular poster (I lurk mostly) - I don't need to be overwhelmed by dozens of threads that usually go over ten pages long on the same subject. Some of the subjects lose their point in petty fighting and the like, but some make valid points. One of the most eye-opening ones was merely these words: 'Why is Who doing so badly in the U.S. (United States) ratings?' There are lots of reasons given in the thread why the show is doing badly (which is currently airing on the Sci-Fi Channel with Series 1): timeslots, language differences, and the rather strange narrative that the show has had for its entire run since '63. It could just be that Americans largely dislike foreign shows because they don't have a clear and concise explanation of what their show is about right away. It requires too much energy for them (although this same audience watches the often headache-inducing 24 and Prison Break on Fox). For me, it's a matter of the script and who writes it. In my reviews of 'New Earth' and 'Tooth and Claw', one of my chief complaints was the clear lack of understanding of the words spoken by the actors, David Tennant especially. Those, however, are under the pen of Russell Davies. Under someone such as Steven Moffat, there is a sense of clarity in not only the dialogue, but even in the story itself. Things got better with his episode, 'The Girl In The Fireplace,' as well as the current Tom MacRae Cybermen two-parter that just finished. I suppose 'School Reunion' deserves a mention, too. If the show keeps displaying good work and a clear sense of what's being said and done on the screen, the show will eventually win U.S. viewers. As it stands right now with Series 1 being aired in the United States, we may not give ourselves a chance to find that out. Oh well, there's always DVD and the old VHS tapes."

The Independent says that "Doctor Who is accustomed to renaissance. He clutches at his hearts, announces that this is the end and, in a blur and blaze of Colour Separation Overlay, becomes a man with an entirely different Equity number. That's nothing, however, to the renaissance currently being experienced by Doctor Who: Russell T Davies grinning his big Welsh grin all over the BAFTAs, ratings so huge that they have altered industry prognoses about the future of TV drama; a nation enthralled by the chavvy, chipmunky majesty of Billie Piper. My tutor at university used to say that one of the most significant things about the Renaissance was that it was the moment at which it became impossible for one person to have read every book in existence. What era can we be said to have entered when it is no longer possible for a single person to have consumed every text bearing the Doctor Who logo? This month, the tally of new material includes four episodes of the new Saturday night series on BBC1, four instalments each of the cable spin-offs Doctor Who Confidential and Totally Doctor Who, one issue of Doctor Who Magazine, two issues of the Doctor Who Adventures comic, two audio-only dramas on CD, three hardback novels, one paperback novella, seven mass market non-fiction books and one academic study by the Professor of Film at Leicester University. So to participate completely in the cultural practice of Doctor Who, you would have to devote every waking hour to it. You would have to give up your job and renounce family and friends. You would have to stay hunched in your room for days at a time. (If you've just thought of an unkind joke about Doctor Who fans, hush your mouth - at least they don't go on the rampage through city centres when they don't like the result on Saturday.) James Chapman is not the first academic to subject Doctor Who to seminar-style analysis. That honour goes to a double act, John Tulloch and Manuel Alvarado, whose Doctor Who: The Unfolding Text (1983) applied the theoretical discipline of the Frankfurt school to Doctor Who's melodramas of alien invasion, alien possession and alien killer plastic inflatable armchairs. As Chapman observes, this approach caused so much amusement in the Doctor Who production office that one of the book's more impenetrable sentences made it into the series. In the 1987 story 'Dragonfire', a glum-looking heavy asks Sylvester McCoy's Doctor: 'What do you think of the assertion that the semiotic thickness of a performed text varies according to the redundancy of its auxiliary performance codes?' The Doctor, for once, is speechless. When The Unfolding Text was published, Doctor Who non-fiction existed principally to tell you what the acronym TARDIS stood for, and that Patrick Troughton played the central part in the style of 'a cosmic hobo' - whatever that was. The potential readership just wasn't ready to investigate the hermeneutic coding of William Hartnell's astrakhan hat. And, judging by Chapman's book, neither are they now. Chapman's approach is unpretentious, readable, solidly authoritative and self-consciously anti-theoretical. 'The Doctor may have conquered Daleks, Cybermen and Ice Warriors,' he argues, 'but would he survive an encounter with Foucault, Derrida or Deleuze?' ... Doctor Who isn't just 28 seasons of television drama and one TV movie with Paul McGann in a dodgy wig. It's also 43 unbroken years of comic strips, 100-odd audio dramas, 300-odd novels, thousands of web pages and a mixed bag of stage plays, radio plays, webcasts, feature films, annuals, sketches and story anthologies. More importantly, Doctor Who is something that we do as well as watch or read. Its concepts and metaphors have invaded our language. It has colonised the British consciousness more effectively than any race of rubber-skinned aliens. It is a monstrous, unstoppable, ever-growing discourse. So what would happen if, on some time-trip to the Left Bank in the 1970s, Deleuze , Derrida and Foucault encountered Doctor Who? That's easy. It would simply slide on top of them like a giant green blancmange with a four-foot phallus."

icNewcastle writes, "A Doctor Who fan's lifelong dream has become a reality after appearing on the popular TV show. Lecturer John Paul Green, 33, has watched the long running sci-fi series ever since he was in nappies. He said: 'I'd watch the show every Saturday and be captivated all afternoon.' John, who works in the arts, design, media and culture department at Sunderland University, even wrote to Jim'll Fix It as a seven year old, begging Jimmy Savile to get him a part, to no avail. But in a bizarre twist of fate 26 years later, it was an old pal who fixed it for him. Matthew Pardo, who studied at the Wearside university with John and is now a journalist living in Bath, got wind of Dr Who auditions because of links with the casting agency involved. John said: 'I was over the moon. This was my chance to become a part of Dr Who history.' He was among 40 extras who got a job and then, to his delight, was chosen as the one person to appear in a close-up with the two stars . . . David Tennant as the Doctor and Billie Piper as his assistant Rose Tyler. The 12-hour shoot took place in Cardiff in January and the result was his appearances in The Rise of the Cybermen and the Age of Steel broadcast on May 13 and 20. John plays a human in the early stages of being turned into a ruthless Cyberman. He said: 'Billie was lovely, really warm and down to earth and made an effort to talk to the extras. David Tennant's a great Dr Who. He really gets into character the moment the cameras are rolling. The hardest thing was keeping it a secret from everyone.' The only people to know about John's brush with fame were his partner Kay and his parents. Then, when the first episode he appeared in was aired, John arranged a barbecue for all his friends and then announced that watching Dr Who would be part of the night's entertainment . . . without telling them beforehand about his role. He said: 'People commented `that looks a lot like you', and then the penny dropped. They were all utterly shocked and couldn't believe I'd managed to keep it from them.' John claims he's not obsessed with Dr Who, but when his mobile rings during our interview the tone is the theme tune of the show. He also wrote his Masters degree dissertation on the programme, and got it signed by 15 former stars of the series. And he's met his favourite doctor, Tom Baker. So what's next for John? He beamed: 'I'd love to appear in the next big Bond film.'"

The Evening Express asks, "Is There a Doctor in the house? Because I know a Time Lord who is desperately in need of treatment. To describe the second series of Doctor Who as 'disappointing' is a bit like describing the Titanic as a wee mishap at sea. The storylines are already repetitive. Instead of the undead in Victorian London we get werewolves on Victorian Deeside. The menace of the Daleks is replaced with the stomping of the Cyberman. Sorry, but Trigger from Only Fools And Horses isn't what I expect in my evil genius. Tonight's episode will see eerie forces at work in post-war London, just like the eerie forces at work in wartime London. It's too early for Russell T Davies and his team to be re-treading themes. I mean, how many more times is Rose going to go running after alternate versions of her dead dad? That poignant, plinky-plonky music is grating. Last year's series was a brilliant updating of Doctor Who, giving the classic themes a new, surprising twist. But this series is just stale. And central to the problem is the Doctor himself. Chris Ecclestone brought a dark edge to his Time Lord. There was a tormented soul under that gleeful bonhomie. You were never sure what he was going to do next. But I can tell you exactly what David Tennant will do. He'll shout. He'll go all wide-eyed (one wider than the other) and stare. He'll cackle with laughter and call himself a genius. Pass the ham. The only tortured souls now are those of us who wish we had a Tardis to bring back the Doctor who breathed magic into the character."

5/30/2006 12:03:00 am -
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May 30, 2006 • Posted By Shaun Lyon

According to Amazon.co.uk, there has been a change to the lineup of Tenth Doctor novels planned for 21 September release. Now listed along with Stephen Cole's The Art of Destruction and Mike Tucker's The Nightmare of Black Island, is The Price of Paradise by Colin Brake, replacing Jacqueline Rayner's previously announced "The Last Museum". The details on Brake's book are in the outset box, below.

Amazon.co.uk is also listing an 6 November MP3-CD release from BBC Audiobooks of Doctor Who Reconstructed: The Highlanders, which will be the second release in the Reconstructed range, following 2005's "The Power of the Daleks". Details listed below.

The Price of Paradise, by Colin BrakeLaylora - the Paradise Planet - is a world of breath-taking beauty, where peace-loving aboriginals live in harmony with their environment. Or do they? The Doctor and Rose arrive to find that the once-perfect eco-system is showing signs of failing. The paradise planet has become a death trap as terrifying creatures from ancient legends appear and stalk the land...Is there a connection between the human explorers who have crash-landed and the savage monsters? What secret lies at the heart of the natives' ancient ceremonies? And, what price might one human have to pay to save the only home he has ever known? When a planet itself becomes sick, can there be a cure? The Doctor and Rose find themselves in a race against time to find out...This work features the Doctor and Rose as played by David Tennant and Billie Piper in the hit series from BBC Television.

Doctor Who Reconstructed: The HighlandersThis unique project matches the soundtrack recording of a classic 'Doctor Who' television story with a visual slideshow of 'telesnaps' showing images from the lost film recording. Of the 100 plus episodes of 'Doctor Who' which are absent from the television archives, only two elements survive: off-air sound recordings and 'telesnaps'. For each 25 minute episode of 'Doctor Who', approximately 70 off-screen photographs exist. Since 1998 BBC Audio has successfully published the soundtracks of these missing stories, with addition linking narration. This new MP3-CD series now marries the sound with the telesnaps, to present a slideshow of images from the episodes and going some way to 'reconstructing' the original film episodes. In 'The Highlanders', the Doctor (Patrick Troughton) and his companions Ben and Polly arrive on Culloden Moor in 1745. There they become embroiled in the bloody battle between Highlanders and Redcoats, and befriend a new Tardis occupant: Jamie McCrimmon (Frazer Hines).

5/28/2006 12:05:00 am -
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May 28, 2006 • Posted By Shaun Lyon

Overnight ratings for The Idiot's Lantern, this season's seventh new episode of Doctor Who, have come in: last night, the series was watched by an average of 6.32 million viewers, with a 32.2% audience share. The episode peaked at 7.78 million viewers in the five-minute breakdown, at the very end of the episode. Of note, while the total TV audience for the evening was down slightly, the ITV broadcast of Soccer Aid at the very same time averaged 6.15 million viewers. Doctor Who was still first in its timeslot by both number of viewers and audience share, with Soccer Aid scoring the number two slot. Compared to the same weekend last year, where the episode "The Doctor Dances" scored 6.17 million viewers (as adjusted by BARB for the final viewing figure), Doctor Who ranked higher this time. It is, however, the lowest audience share of the new series to date, breaking the previous low of 33.9% held by "Aliens of London," again likely due to the Soccer Aid broadcast, which had been expected to beat every other show of the night.

Over on BBC Three, the sixth instalment of Doctor Who Confidential was watched by 432,000 viewers (2.8% audience share), a decline of approximately 170,000 viewers from the previous week. (Thanks to 'Shaun Lyon,' Andy Parish)

5/26/2006 12:07:00 am -
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May 26, 2006 • Posted By Shaun Lyon

There is no feature for the ninth new episode of the season, The Satan Pit, in this week's Programme Information releases from the BBC Press Office. The programme copy for the episode, however, located here, has the actual blurb for the episode as follows.

Doctor Who: The Satan PitRose battles the murderous Ood and the Doctor finds his every belief being challenged to the core, as the Pit beckons in the concluding part of this two-part story. With the planet threatening to fall into the Black Hole, the Doctor must make the ultimate sacrifice – but can he save the entire universe from the Beast? David Tennant plays the Doctor, Billie Piper plays Rose and Will Thorp plays Toby.

5/26/2006 12:06:00 am -
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Issue 5 of Doctor Who Adventures is due out next week, and we have a special early preview of the official tie-in magazine below. Click on the thumbnail for a larger version of the cover.

Issue 5 of Doctor Who Adventures hits the shelves on 31 May - and it's another action-packed adventure for Doctor Who fans.

This issue you can discover how Mickey Smith went from reluctant adventurer to freedom fighter.There's a preview of The Impossible Planet and The Satan Pit, so brace yourself for a glimpse of the seriously yucky Ood! Be prepared with the Doctor's Data - this time it's all about the scary werewolf. Make your own Moxx of Balhoon mask to scare your friends! Relive The Girl in the Fireplace and find out behind-the-scenes secrets. You can also slip sideways into a parallel world to discover how things could be very different for the Doctor if Jackie travelled with him or if K-9 was a robotic cat!

All this plus posters, puzzles and competitions and another exciting comic adventure with the Doctor and Rose.

Issue 5 comes with a fantastic TARDIS log book for readers to log their adventures in time and space! Don't miss it!

5/26/2006 12:06:00 am -
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May 26, 2006 • Posted By Shaun Lyon

Sunday evening's BBC Three repeat of The Age of Steel was watched by 606,800 viewers, placing it first in its multichannel timeslot and fourth for the day, according to overnight viewing figures. The average overnight rating for the Sunday repeats has been 574,000 so far this series, with only New Earth achieving a comparatively low 0.4m in its final rating. The multichannel audience share has ranged from 2.5% to 4.1%. The AI in this slot has tended to be a little higher than for the Saturday night first showings, with scores as high as 89 for School Reunion.

The Friday peaktime repeats have reached a smaller number of viewers, an average of 284,000, and an audience share of 1.7% to 2.8%, with Rise of the Cybermen being seen last Friday by 309,100 (1.7%) in a hotly contested timeslot. While the Sunday audience seems fairly consistent so far, Friday's audience seems to fluctuate more, and largely in line with the ratings for Saturday nights - the higher the Saturday figure, the fewer people watch on Friday.

This means that the first five episodes of Series Two have achieved a remarkably consistent first-week audience, drawn from Saturday and timeshift viewers, and Sunday or Friday repeat audiences. While the series' Saturday overnight average stands at 7.9m (up from 7.3m in the same period last year), the series actually seems to have an average total audience of 9.6m (up from 8.6m the same period in 2005), with less variation - so far - between episodes. The variation in these approximate figures across the five weeks is only a half-million either side of the average figure (while a programme like EastEnders can have greater fluctuation across a single week):

1. Tooth and Claw 10.2m2. Rise of the Cybermen 10.16m3. New Earth 9.5m4. School Reunion 9.37m5. The Girl in the Fireplace 8.94m

The first three weekday evening repeats this week have attracted a steady audience of about a quarter of a million each night: New Earth 237,000 (1.2%); Tooth and Claw 253,000 (1.7%); School Reunion 267,000 (1.6%).

5/26/2006 12:05:00 am -
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May 26, 2006 • Posted By Shaun Lyon

DWM also has a brief update on progress in the making of the Torchwoodspinoff series. According to the issue, the readthrough for episodes one and two took place on Wednesday 26 April before location filming began on Monday 1 May. Colin Teague will direct Block Two, comprising episodes by Toby Whithouse and Helen Raynor, the latter titledThe Ghost Machine.

5/26/2006 12:05:00 am -
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May 26, 2006 • Posted By Shaun Lyon

The latest issue of Doctor Who Magazine, issue 370, is out now and carries one last piece of casting news for the second series. The tenth episode,Love & Monsters, will indeed include a cameo appearance by Bella Emberg as Outpost Gallifrey reported a few days ago. Emberg has appeared in a variety of British comedy and drama since the 1960s, including Z Cars, Benny Hill and Russ Abbot, and also had two uncredited appearance in classic Doctor Who: as a nurse in Doctor Who and the Silurians (1970) and as a "kitchen hag" in The Time Warrior (1973).

The final edits have now been completed for all episodes of Series Two, according to the magazine, with work on FX shots now continuing at the Mill and Murray Gold planning a further session recording incidental music with the National Orchestra of Wales. According to producer Phil Collinson, "Everything is bang on schedule, and the whole team is delighted by the end results."

The titles of the eighth, ninth and tenth editions of Doctor Who Confidential are also revealed. The Look of Whogives "a look at how each episode varies in visual style"; Religion and Myth examines the Doctor's encounters with "mythical and religious figures"; New World of Who concentrates on "how Doctor Who's popularity has led to the casting of the biggest names in TV".

This year's Christmas special will be directed by Euros Lyn. Also, Matthew Graham, writer of "Fear Her" in Series Two and of the series Life on Mars, confirms in his DWM interview that he will be contributing another script to Series Three, "roughly in the same area of the series, Episode 10 or 11".

The second series DVD box set due this autumn should include brand new commentaries for all fourteen episodes, "with different members of the cast and crew", rather than the current "podcast" commentaries. These podcasts have been filmed by the Confidential team, although no decision has yet been taken on how to make use of the footage.

Finally, Panini's Doctor Who Storybook 2007 will be out in August and DWM lists its contents as: Cuckook Spit (Mark Gatiss); The Cat Came Back (Gareth Roberts); Once Upon a Time (Tom MacRae); Gravestone House (Justin Richards); Untitled (Robert Shearman); No One Died (Nicholas Briggs); Corner of the Eye (Steven Moffat); and a comic strip by Jonathan Morris called Opera of Doom. Artists on the book are Mike Collins, Martin Geraghty, Daryl Joyce, Alister Pearson, Adrian Salmon, Andy Walker, Brian Williamson and Ben Willsher.

5/24/2006 12:08:00 am -
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May 24, 2006 • Posted By Shaun Lyon

Ratings for the tenth episode of the first season of the new series, Boom Town, on US television on the Sci Fi Channel, have come in: the telecast dropped a bit to a 1.03 with an average of 1.2 million viewers, down approximately 200,000 viewers from the previous week. Season-to-date, Sci Fi reports that Doctor Who is currently averaging a 1.28 household rating and an average audience of 1.5 million viewers for the season. The show will not air this Friday due to the US Memorial Day weekend holiday, but will return on Friday, June 2.

5/24/2006 12:08:00 am -
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Shaun Lyon

May 24, 2006 • Posted By Shaun Lyon

The official audience ratings for Rise of the Cybermen today show a consolidated figure of 9.22 million viwers (including timeshifted viewings), up 0.6 million from the unofficial overnight figure of 8.6 million. The episode was BBC One's second most-watched programme of the week, behind only one edition of EastEnders, and is at number 6 in the chart of the week's highest-rating programmes, the series highest placing since its return last year. It is also Doctor Who's highest chart position since an episode of The Ark in Space reached number 5 in 1975.

5/24/2006 12:07:00 am -
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May 24, 2006 • Posted By Shaun Lyon

Tenth Planet have sent us the cover for the forthcoming UK DVD release of The Hand of Fearstarring Tom Baker and Elisabeth Sladen, in her final installment as a series regular in the classic Doctor Who series. Click on the thumbnail for a larger version of the cover. The DVD is out in the UK on 31 July.

5/23/2006 12:10:00 am -
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May 23, 2006 • Posted By Shaun Lyon

Just published is Volume Two of Sci Fi & Fantasy Modeller a 100-page "all-colour, book format genre modelling title. Of special interest to Doctor Who fans this issue is a profusely illustrated seventeen-page feature on the creation of the new series cybermen, written by Neill Gorton. From concept artwork to final suits, with many exclusive shots plus on-set photographs, Neill's article provides a comprehensive guide to the evolution of the metal monsters. Also featured this issue is a five page article written by Mike Tucker chronicling his miniature work for The Christmas Invasion special." The magazine can be ordered at their website. Below is the cover image as well as a sample page; click on each for a (slightly) larger version.

5/23/2006 12:10:00 am -
Reported by
Shaun Lyon

A brief catch-up on the stories from the past two days; detailed coverage of last week's press is coming tomorrow.

The Idiot's Lantern Pre-Press

The official Doctor Who website has revised its front page with items aboutThe Idiot's Lantern including its "Fear Factor" segment and new photographs.

Heat magazine's reviewer Chris Longridge comments on The Idiot's Lantern that: "The League of Gentlemen's Mark Gatiss is backin the writing chair for this new historical adventure (he also wrote last year's Charles Dickens episode) as the Doctor and Rose travel back to 1953, the year of the Queen's coronation. While Rose is busy stocking up on petticoats, the nation is gathered round its new TV sets to watch the event, unaware that there are nasties lurking in the set." He gives this eppy 5 stars, and Heat ranks this as 8 in their top 10 Best TV Shows of the week.

Closer has this week's episode as one of their Choices for Saturday: "It's back to the '50s tonight for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. A seemingly innocent event you'd think - until the Doc shows up (his knack of stirring up trouble is even better than Miss Marple's!). As sooon as he lands his Tardis, monsters and aliens start roaming the streets and it's the usual race against time to get Rose out alive." (reviewer: Hannah Wright).

One of Reveal's Must Sees, the magazine writes: "The time-travellers touch down in 1950s London as the nation prepares for the Queen's Coronation. Instead of celebrating, Rose and the Doctor set to work battling the monsters rumoured to be stalking the streets." (Reveal gives it 4 out of 5 stars).

Sneak has this episode as one of it's Must-See TV shows: "...It's the Queen's coronation and monsters are everywhere. Funny how no one noticed at the time."

Star magazine gives the Idiot's Lantern 4 (out of 5) stars) and notes: "It's 1953 and the Doc and Rose are back in London again, just in time for the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. As people are preocupied with the big event, they fail to notice something a lot more sinister - a threat of monsters on the streets." (reviewer: KH) (This eppy is also one of the mag's Top 10 terrestrial TV shows).

Love & Monsters

In this week's issue of Heat magazine, they have exclusive pics of Peter Kay's character in Doctor Who. The article reads: "Comedian lands his dream role. Yikes! It's hard to believe, but somewhere lurking inside this slimy alien is Peter Kay. The Phoenix Nights funny man's transformation was for an upcoming episode of Doctor Who, and these are the first exclusive pictures. Peter was so desperate to star in the classic BBC sci-fi series that he wrote a letter to creator Russell T Davies asking for a part. In the episode, entitled Love and Monsters - to be screened next month - Peter plays Victor Kennedy who morphs into Abzorbaloff, a creepy monster that absorbs humans into its skin. Scary stuff!" At right is one of the images; for a larger version, and more photos, pick up the issue now on sale.

People

Visual effects artist Mike Tucker, who has worked on both the original and new Doctor Who series, was awarded a BAFTA award on May 19 for Best Visual Effects along with his colleagues Red Vision and Gareth Edwards, for their work on the BBC One documentary "Hiroshima".

Bonnie Langford joins Tim McArthur this week on TheatreRadio, and recalls her time as the Doctor’s assistant during the interview. 'Tim McArthur Interviews…' is repeated twice daily at 2pm GMT and 10pm GMT until Sunday 28th July. "This week on TheatreRadio, Tim McArthur is joined by Bonnie Langford, who is currently starring as Roxie Hart in Chicago at the Cambridge Theatre. As well as playing some fantastic music, Tim has a pair of tickets to give away, so make sure you tune in. Bonnie was thrilled to take part in ITV1's hit Saturday night show 'Dancing on Ice' where she undertook perhaps one of the most chilling challenges in her career so far. Partnered by the US figure skating champion Matt Evers and coached by the world famous Olympic Ice Dance Champions, Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean, Bonnie skated her way into the final with spectacular, daring and beautiful routines. ... With a range of theatre classics and more contemporary tracks, TheatreRadio provides a unique blend of music and is accessible to everyone wanting to listen to musical theatre."

5/23/2006 12:09:00 am -
Reported by
Shaun Lyon

May 23, 2006 • Posted By Shaun Lyon

EzyDVD has announced two forthcoming DVD releases in Australia: on July 6, the Jon Pertwee serial Inferno and on July 20, Series Two, Volume One of the new Doctor Who series. The latter announcement is surprising given that it has not yet been scheduled there for television broadcast.

5/23/2006 12:09:00 am -
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Shaun Lyon

May 23, 2006 • Posted By Shaun Lyon

News of two guest stars for forthcoming Doctor Who episodes have been making the rounds on the 'net. Gabriel Woolf, who played Sutekh in "Pyramids of Mars" during the Tom Baker era and recently reprised the role for Magic Bullet Productions in their series of audios, will be playing the voice of Satan himself in the second half of the next two-part story, "The Satan Pit". Meanwhile, comedienne Bella Emberg, who has appeared on a long list of British sitcoms and shows such as "Russ Abbot's Madhouse" and "The Benny Hill Show" and who made two uncredited appearances on Doctor Who during the 1970's (in "The Time Warrior" and "Doctor Who and the Silurians"), will apparently be seen in the season's tenth episode, "Love & Monsters". Official word from the production is still pending.

5/23/2006 12:09:00 am -
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May 23, 2006 • Posted By Shaun Lyon

BBC Worldwide has confirmed the release of Mark of the Rani on DVD on September 4 in the UK. The story, from Season 22, stars Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant as the Doctor and Peri, with special guest stars Anthony Ainley as the Master and Kate O'Mara as the Rani. The single-disc release will contain commentaries by Baker, Bryant and O'Mara (the Doctor Who Restoration Team notes that director Sarah Hellings agreed to do the commentary but sadly couldn't make it due to scheduling reasons); "Lords and Luddites," an interview documentary featuring comments by Baker, Bryant, O'Mara, actor Gary Cady, script editor Eric Saward, writers Pip and Jane Baker and others; "Now and Then," a special look at the Blists Hill Victorian Museum where the episode was filmed; a historical segment from "Blue Peter" on the Ironbridge Gorge; a clip of Baker and Bryant on "Saturday Superstore"; plus deleted and extended scenes, a photo gallery, isolated music score as well as alternate music score for part one, and PDF copies of the 1985 Doctor Who Annual as well as clips from Radio Times.

5/22/2006 12:11:00 am -
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May 22, 2006 • Posted By Shaun Lyon

Outpost Gallifrey has received the cover illustration for Series Two Volume Three, the third episodic DVD release of the current Doctor Who season being aired on BBC Television. The third volume contains three episodes, "Rise of the Cybermen," "The Age of Steel" and "The Idiot's Lantern". No extras are on this disc set (that will come later in the year on the boxed set). Click on the thumbnail for a larger version of the cover.

5/21/2006 12:11:00 am -
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Shaun Lyon

May 21, 2006 • Posted By Shaun Lyon

Unofficial overnight viewing figures for yesterday show that Saturday's night's broadcast of The Age of Steel was seen by an average audience of 6.9 million viewers, with an audience share of 35.5%. This places it first in its timeslot and second for the day, behind this year's Eurovision Song Contest (8.2m, 37.3%). Doctor Who was 1.6m ahead of the day's third-placed programme The National Lottery Jet Set (5.3m, 26.7%) and 1.8m ahead of its ITV1 competition, The Prince's Trust 30th Birthday Live (5.1m, 23.4%). Viewing figures in the earlier this week's earlier timeslot began at 5.88m, but almost two million viewers joined the programme during the episode, which peaked at 7.73m at around 7.15pm, before the usual dramatic drop in BBC One's figures when Doctor Who finished (down to about 5m). On the same weekend last year, and also moved to an earlier timeslot by the annual Eurovision, The Empty Child's overnights fell to 6.6m (34.9%) from the 7.5m (42.7%) achieved by Father's Day, with 2005's Eurovision at 7.9m (38.8%), so The Age of Steel continues Series Two's consistent year-on-year increase on the ratings for Series One.

5/19/2006 12:14:00 am -
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Shaun Lyon

May 19, 2006 • Posted By Shaun Lyon

The official BBC Doctor Who website has confirmed the UK DVD release ofThe Hand of Fear starring Tom Baker as the Doctor and Elisabeth Sladen - in her last episode as a regular on Doctor Who - as Sarah Jane Smith. The DVD is currently due out on 31 July 2006. The release will feature commentary by Baker, Sladen, Judith Paris (Eldrad), Bob Baker (writer) and Philip Hinchcliffe (producer); "Changing Times," a 50-minute documentary charting the special relationship between the Doctor and his companion Sarah Jane Smith; "Swap Shop," a very rare clip of Tom Baker and Elisabeth Sladen's appearance on the first ever edition of Noel Edmonds' Multi-Coloured Swap Shop, shown in October 1976; plus PDFs of the 1977 Doctor Who Annual and the Radio Times listings for The Hand of Fear, a photo gallery, continuity announcements, information text subtitles and easter egg.